ALR782 - Public Affairs and Opinion Formation
Unit details
| Year | 2025 unit information |
|---|---|
| Enrolment modes: | Trimester 1: Burwood (Melbourne), Online |
| Credit point(s): | 1 |
| EFTSL value: | 0.125 |
| Unit Chair: | Trimester 1: Deirdre Quinn-Allan |
| Corequisite: | Nil |
| Incompatible with: | ALR214, ALR383 |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment: | 1 x 2-hour on-campus seminar per week |
| Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment: | Approximately 2-hours of online learning tasks and discussions per week. |
| Typical study commitment: | Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. This will include educator guided online learning activities within the unit site. |
Content
This unit explores ‘public affairs’, a political communication role focused on policy development and public opinion formation in the Australian political context. It provides students with ‘behind the scenes’ insight into how the government works by examining roles played by lobbyists, public affairs practitioners and journalists in the promotion of competing viewpoints.
Canvassing various sectors that have influence in Australian policy development spectrum, it also examines the political communication activities of non-government organisations (NGOs), not for profit and activist groups; as well, special interest groups such as ‘think tanks’ with special emphasis on their donors, funders and affiliations.
The unit enables students to apply their knowledge and understanding of the political process, issue management and the forecasting of trends in relation to opinion formation and policy development.
Learning Outcomes
| ULO | These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: | Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs) |
|---|---|---|
| ULO1 | Apply a range of theoretical frameworks to analyse and explain contemporary public affairs practice | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication GLO4: Critical thinking |
| ULO2 | Analyse and explain public opinion and the relationship to public affairs | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication GLO4: Critical thinking |
| ULO3 | Research government and political processes and explain how they are influenced by public affairs practice | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication GLO4: Critical thinking |
| ULO4 | Research and plan a lobbying or advocacy initiative | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO5: Problem solving |
| ULO5 | Locate and apply relevant sources to understand the Australian political process for the analysis of public affairs practice and for lobbying and advocacy planning | GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication GLO3: Digital literacy GLO4: Critical thinking GLO5: Problem solving GLO6: Self-management |
Assessment
| Assessment Description | Student output | Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit) | Indicative due week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1 - Essay | 2000 words | 40% | Week 5 |
| Assessment 2 - Major Project Plan | 500 words | 10% | Week 7 |
| Assessment 3 - Major Project | 2500 words | 50% | Week 11 |
The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.
Learning resource
The unit readings and resources are linked to in each week’s essential study guide topic on the unit site. Commence each week’s topic via the study guide.
The texts and reading list for ALR782 can be found via the University Library.
Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.
Unit Fee Information
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study and their study discipline, and your study load.
Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current Students website.